


Traumatized

by Ongaku_Ato_Kakikomi



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:40:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24062263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ongaku_Ato_Kakikomi/pseuds/Ongaku_Ato_Kakikomi
Summary: You were in love with Garrett, now he's dead. This is your journey through grief.
Relationships: Garrett Reynolds/Reader, Garrett Reynolds/You
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

When you regained consciousness, the air felt heavy and you couldn’t see anything in the darkness. Then you felt the woods against your back and the tapes around your wrists and on your mouth, and everything started to suffocate you. The small amount of lights coming between the cracks managed to make you realized you were trapped in a box, still on the train, if you recall the sound you’re hearing, and that meant A was about to push you to your imminent death.

You tried screaming at first, but the tape kept muffling those until you managed to take it off. Then you screamed at the top of your lungs, begging for someone to come save you while also trying to push the box around. You closed your eyes in fear when the box suddenly felt unto the ground, your whole body agonizing from the pain while your head stopped a few centimeters away from a nail. The fact that you almost stabbed yourself to death somehow scared you more, but you quickly recovered by using it to cut off the tapes around your wrists.

Then you turn your head, and there he was.

At first, you couldn’t react, because your brain didn’t want to process what you were seeing. Garrett Reynolds, the man you had secretly learned to love in the past year, was wrapped up in a blanket next to you, his dull eyes and his mouth wide open without any breath coming in or out of it. You didn’t want to process it, you didn’t think you would survive it-

So you started to move him with your hands, whispering to him to wake up… Now was not the time to mess around, you were both trapped in a box, probably close to dying, so he needed to wake. He _needed_ to wake up-

And then you cried. You just cried so much that you felt like an invisible force was pulling the tears out of your body, leaving you full of agonizing pain without anything to wash it away. You grabbed unto him hard, not caring that he was a dead body. You loved him. You loved him with all of your heart and mind, and now A had killed him.

So you didn’t care when you heard a door opening, the box soon getting pushed over by two people that kept whispering to each other. All you could do was to cry and hold him close to you, asking god why he made a vicious murderer take him away from you.

You just saw him a few hours ago… and he was _fine._ _**He was fine!**_

“ _(Y/N)!_ ” You hadn’t noticed that the box has stopped getting pushed, your friends having now found you while taking the box back inside the train’s car. “ _(Y/N), we’re here, okay? We’re getting you out!_ ”

You couldn’t even know which one was talking. All you could think about was Garrett.

“ _Get the hammer!_ ”

“ _Hold on! **Hold on!**_ ”

When they finally got the lid off, despite your cries and begging, they had no choice but to force you to let go of him.


	2. Chapter 2

“So what happened exactly?”

All your friends look at you expectantly when the police officer ask you the question, your head looking down towards the ground while you stay silent. Spencer notices how your legs are shaking, your fingers digging inside your skin and your breath accelerating, but it’s your dull eyes that push her to speak.

“She said she was drinking, then she woke up in the crate with Garrett.” You tense up at the sound of his name, flashes of his dead expression coming back into your head. “Someone must have drugged her and put her there.”

“The box was about to fall off the train when we found her.” Emily takes your hands in hers, almost grimacing when you start squeezing it as hard as you can. “We saved her in time.”

“(Y/N).” The police officer tilts his head at you, waiting for you to answer him. “Is that what happened?”

You don’t even have the strength to nod, a small positive hum only escaping your throat.

“Alright…” He looks at the rest of your friends with a serious expression. “Call us if you remember anything, alright?”

They all nod in agreement, and once the policeman walks away and out of earshot, they all turn to you.

“(Y/N), what was that?” Hanna’s voice rings into your ears, and you can hear the eagerness in it. “Why were you holding on to him like that?”

“Yeah.” You feel your heart squeezing in agony, your brain silently begging them to stop. “We had to pry you off of a dead body.”

“I-I…”

“I mean, it’s not like he was close to you. You always said you hated him.”

Your throat shrinks at those words and you hide your face with your hands, your whole body starting to shake again under your cries. All you can feel is hard pain: Pain in your mind, pain in your lungs, pain in your body. You could feel that your soul had ripped apart at the very moment you saw him dead, that half part of your heart that you gave to him dying with him.

All your friends could see was you crying and unable to answer them, but they suddenly understood what was happening.

You loved him. They didn’t know why, but you loved him. And now he was dead because of A.

All they can do for now is to comfort you the best way that they can.


	3. Chapter 3

“Aria?”

You call your friend’s name as you open the door to her room, Emily and Hanna right behind you with worried expressions. The three of you have tried to reach the brown-haired girl all-day, knowing how sick she has been these past days, only to get no response from her or her new ‘step-mom’, Meredith. This pushed you to all go to her house to make sure she’s okay despite the raging storm going on outside.

The three of you slowly step inside the bookworm’s room towards the bed, jumping a little when you hear the thunder growl again, but your eyes widen in surprise when you see that the lying form you thought you saw are just a pile of sheets.

“She’s not here.” You turn your head towards Emily, who’s the closest to you, and you both share a panic look while Hanna grabs her phone and tries to call Aria for the hundredth time this day.

“Calling her-”

The loud ringing that comes from behind you makes you quickly turn around, only for your throat to shrink at the sight of Meredith staring at you three with dull eyes.

“Meredith.”

She tilts her head when you say her name. “What are you girls doing out in this storm?”

You shiver at her monotone voice, so low and distant, and you feel Emily grab your hand to both give you and get some comfort.

“Where’s Aria?” You can’t help but envy Hanna’s courage, the blond squinting her eyes at the young woman.

“She went down to the basement to look for some flashlights.” You notice how she’s holding onto a cellphone that looks like Aria’s, your eyebrows frowning in suspicion. “She has been there a little while… maybe we should go check on her.”

She stares silently at each of you for a small moment before she slowly turns around and walks into the hallway, Hanna turning her head back to you and Emily to send you a worried look before you follow the young woman. You can’t help but tighten your grip on Emily’s hand as you walk down the stairs together, the storm getting louder with each step.

The image of Garret’s smiling face superimposed with his dying dull eyes comes to your mind for a second and you shake your head to push both of them away, your heart already throbbing in pain. You’ve recently gotten better with your friends’ help, each of them doing their best to comfort you when you finally manage to tell them that you were dating him, and so you’ve stopped crying and having nightmares a few weeks ago. Though, some memories tend to come back into your head whenever you had to face dangerous situations… just like this one.

You let go of Emily’s hand as soon as Meredith opens the basement door, each one of you taking a precocious step towards the darkness while the blond woman holds the door.

“Aria?” You hear Hanna’s voice in front of you, Emily staying silent as she goes deeper down there. “Are you down here?”

The loud noise of the door closing makes everything around you slow down. Your friends don’t have time to turn around that you’re already lunging yourself at the door, using all your strength to move the lock while you feel your bottom lip quivering from the fear.

“It’s locked…” You let go of the door’s handle and move on to bang on the door, the tears perking from the corner of your eyes as you feel your heart twist over and over. “Let us out…! _**Let us out…!**_ ”

“(Y/N)-” Hanna grabs you by the shoulders and turns you towards her, your blurry vision showing you her worried expression. “(Y/N), just breathe.”

“I can’t-” You open your mouth wide to try and get the air to come in, only succeeding for a small second before you feel it get stuck in your throat. “I can’t… breathe… I…”

“Okay, listen to me!” She shakes you a little, her harsh voice cutting through the panic thoughts in your head. “This is Aria’s basement, okay? We’re locked in a basement, not a box. I know it’s scary, but no one is going to push you out of a train or try to kill you. We are here with you, and we’re gonna do everything in our power to get out of this alive, get it?”

The breathing gets a little easier, though it still feels heavy on your chest. “O-okay…” You slowly nod and difficulty gulps in. “Okay… we’re fine…”

“Yes, we are fine-”

“Guys?”

Emily’s voice catches both of your attention, you and Hanna turning your heads towards your friend to see her halfway down the stairs with a flashlight in her hands. Hanna’s hands drop down from your shoulders, her eyebrows frowning in confusion.

“What?”

Emily looks back at you and the blond, a little uneasy as her voice lowers down to a whisper. “I don’t think we’re alone down here.”

Hanna silently joins Emily to her level, giving you a small look to follow them before they both go down as quietly as possible. You let out a long shaky sigh and hug yourself before you take a step down, following them and letting your eyes follow where the light from Emily’s flashlight points at. You let out a scream when you notice Aria’s body on the ground, your feet freezing on the last step while your two friends run to her.

“Oh my god…!” Emily kneels beside Aria and drops her flashlight on the floor. “Aria?”

“Aria!” Hanna shakes her friend’s body with panic in her voice. “Are you okay?”

You let yourself drop on the floor while you hug the wooden beam of the stairs, whimpers getting out of your mouth with tears pouring out of your eyes. Aria’s dead, just like Garret a few weeks ago. Meredith killed her, she must have, and now that she locked you in, it’s only a matter of time before she kills you too.

“Wake up! Wake up!” Hanna continues to shake Aria while Emily looks up at the ceiling. “Aria, wake up!”

You couldn’t stop staring at Aria’s unconscious face, silent begging for her to open her eyes trying to get out of your throat while you hug the stair’s beam closer. Her face keeps changing to Garrett’s with his opened dull eyes and his white face, the loud storm making you feel like you’re back on the train again.

Why do the people you love keep dying?

“She’s dead…” Emily’s head snaps back to you, her heart sinking at the sight of you. “She’s dead… he’s dead… it’s all happening again-”

“(Y/N), she’s alive-”

You shake your head violently at Emily’s words, the memories of that night flashing before your eyes every now and then. “N-no, she’s not… she’s not… _**he’s not…**_ ”

Hanna silently gestures to Emily to go to you while she tries to wake up Aria, the brown-haired girl not waiting another second to sit beside you.

“(Y/N), she’s alive…” You keep muttering no and hug the stair’s beam closer to you, only for Emily to grab your arms and force them off of it. “She’s alive, okay? The train night is not happening again. You’re safe with us.”

“ _ **I’m so sorry…**_ ” You stare back at Emily with distant eyes, her face changing to Garrett’s smiling face while you seem to hear his laughter. “ _ **It’s all my fault…**_ ”

“Hey, it’s not-” She takes you in her arms and immediately feels your fingers dug into her back, desperately holding onto her. “Aria’s fine, she’s just unconscious, and… and we’ll get out of here, okay? We lived through worse, we can definitely survive this-”

“Guys!” Hanna gives out a relieved smile as she looks at Aria. “She’s waking up…”

You move your head from Emily’s neck to be able to see your brown-haired friend on the ground, your heart slowly getting back to its regular heartbreak when Hanna helps her sit up.

“What…” Aria holds her head for a moment, a groan of pain coming out of her throat. “Is it really you guys?”

“Aria!” You jump out of Emily’s arm to throw yourself at your friend, a surprised scream getting out of her before she hugs you back. “You’re not dead!”

The brown-haired girl gives Hanna a confused stare, the blond mouthing the word ‘PTSD’ to let her know you had a crisis. “N-no, I’m not dead, (Y/N)…”

You just hold onto her tighter, the girl giving out a small smile while she pets your back to comfort you, her eyes locking with Emily’s soft ones.

“Glad you’re okay, Aria.”

“Yeah…” Aria looks up at the basement’s door behind Emily, her eyes squinting at the idea of Meredith staying up there. “Me too.”

Now you just needed to get the hell out of there before she either kills you all or you become crazy.


	4. Chapter 4

You smile peacefully at the trees around you, loving the warmth the sun is giving your skin through the leaves. You haven’t felt this happy in a long time, the sound of the birds singing making your entire being relax. 

“(Y/N).”

You turn around, a surprised gasp escaping when you recognize the person standing in front of you. “Garrett!”

His lips stretch out at the sound of his name coming out of your lips, his arms finding a way around your waist as you throw yours around his neck for a tight hug. You breathe in his scent, this amazing scent you haven’t smelled in months and have missed dearly, feeling your heart bursting with all the love you didn’t have the time to give him.

“How is this possible?” You slightly part away to look at his face; his eyes warm with love and sweetness. “I thought you were-”

“Dead?” His smile widens for a moment. “I am.”

You blink multiple times, confusion spreading on your face. “W-what-”

You can’t help but let out a scream when his features start to melt, blood pouring out of his mouth and nose as the sky turns dark. You scream louder and try to get out of his embrace, but to no avail.

“I died, (Y/N).” You start to sob, doing your best to look away from his bloody face. “I thought you loved me. Why didn’t you save me?”

“I-I couldn’t-”

“This is your fault.”

“N-no, it’s not!” You sit up straight from your bed while you scream those words, your loud breathing not getting any better. “I-it’s not…”

You realize that you’re safe in your room; that Garrett’s not here. He’s dead. You were just having a nightmare.

“It’s not my fault…” You hug your knees close to your heart, your sobs already muffling the words coming out of your mouth. “It’s not…”

You know you’re not gonna be able to go back to sleep if you stay here, so you pick up your car keys on your side table and get out of your room.

* * *

Hanna opens the door to her kitchen for you to get in, worry mixed with frustration clearly set on her face. “(Y/N), it’s literally two AM! What the hell is going on?”

She closes the door as soon as you step in, your hands tightening onto your arms while you let out a shaky breath. “I-I’m sorry, I just… I… I couldn’t sleep alone.”

She looks at you in silence before she gives out a sigh, making a small movement towards the kitchen table to tell you to sit. You give out a small smile to thank her and take a seat at one of the chairs, the blond sitting across from you soon after.

“Okay, you have to tell me what’s going on.” Your hands grasp at each other desperately, her eyes catching your gesture. “You’re tensed all the time, you keep crying… hell, I think you lied and still have those nightmares about Garrett, don’t you?”

“I…” You notice the hard look she’s giving you; lies won’t get you anywhere. “You’re right, I… I just can’t seem to let go.”

“Well, you need to!” You give her a shocked look, not having expected to hear that. “He’s dead, (Y/N). He has been for months. I know you loved him and grieving is a personal thing, but come on! You can’t live in the past forever! If you do, you’re only gonna make things easier for A.”

You stare back at her in total silence. No one has told you this or has even been talking to you this sharp ever since the event. Everyone has been incredibly too nice and comforting: even your own friends… and frankly, you don’t know how to respond to that.

“Look…” Hanna breathes in sharply and takes your hand in hers. “I’m not telling you to forget him. I know you can’t.”

You look away from her for a moment, feeling your breathing getting stuck in your throat.

“What I’m asking you… is to trust your friends with this.” She moves her head so that your eyes can meet hers, a serious look on her face. “You can talk to us about this, we can help. You don’t have to lie to us or run away and hide. We wanna be with you every step of the way.”

You give out a scoff. “You don’t care about Garrett. All you keep asking me is if he ever talked to me about A-”

“Hey.” She stops you with her firm voice, which makes you look down at the table. “I understand. And… well, I’m sorry. We should have been better friends to you.” She gives your hand a little squeeze and gives out a small smile. “How about you give us a chance? I’ll listen to all the cheesy things he said to you if it makes you feel better.”

You give out a slight smile. “Thank you, I…” You stop, take a big breath and let it ou. “I’ll try to open up more.”

“Good.” She gives you a nod before she frees your hands, her head making a small movement towards her fridge. “Now how about we eat some ice cream while you tell me all about him.”

You’re not gonna lie… that sounds like an amazing thing.


End file.
